Two Knights of One Soul
by Metafanatic
Summary: Gazing at that door, it just would never open. Would it ever? Maybe not. But then that day finally came and there stood the person who'd take him away from his awful fate and guide him on the path of truth. Having a brother meant more to him than anything, that he found out when his face met the bitter snow of a new world, and a new life. Lots of blood, censored language.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N**_

_Okay, so I believe this is the third rewrite. -_- But I'm happy with this version so I'm sticking with this one. Sorry for those who are coming back and rereading it. You won't have to worry about me making ANOTHER rewrite ^^' Anywho, I hope you like this version a lot better than the previous ones. My writing has gotten worlds better so yah._**  
**

* * *

Chapter 1

His small form flinched as a bubble brushed past his arm. An eerie silence sealed the tiny creature within a dome of blue liquid in which he was suspended by straps of an unknown material. The glass cylinder was tightly locked inside a metal frame of small pulsing lights and devices that bleeped, occasionally. A lit panel resided upon the top of the frame as it recorded many different statistics, they appearing as a series of numbers that changed at differing rates. Wires connected the small creature to the birth cylinder. The mechanism regulated all parts of the being's body. It kept his heart beating and breathed for him through a clear tube. He'd have to come out eventually, forcing him to no longer rely on the machine to function.

A foxlike biped stood aside the birth cylinder, eyeing the statistics panel as he typed at the keyboard of a complex computer. Pressing a pulsing green button upon the panel, the mechanism bleeped. His eyes narrowed as he watched a number begin to drop at an exponential rate. As it hit zero, the mechanism gave a bleep again. Turning his attention back to the monitor, he began to type again. He pressed a small red button, then another green button. The statistics of the panel began to change, save for a few numbers. The creature within the birth cylinder no longer twitched. He took a deep breath and slowly his eyes pulled open. Looking past the bubbles that brushed past his face, he stared at a yellow eyed person who was round with purple blushes and tiny fangs. The person was staring back at him and blinked when he blinked. The little creature lifted his arm up to touch the person staring at him. The person lifted his arm up too and he touched his hand to the creature's. The small being looked at his hand, his eyes remaining fixed upon it for a while. He had three fingers, including his thumb. The tips of his fingers were pointed...and very sharp, he discovered this as he slid his fingertips across the glass and they easily left scratches. He looked up as the person to find that he was still copying him. He touched the person's face to find that it still felt like glass. He didn't understand that the person who was copying him was merely his reflection.

He slowly blinked and drew his hand to his face. He felt his skin and watched as his reflection did the same. He lowered his arm, no longer interested in it. With his newfound ability to see, he looked everywhere his vision spanned, however his movement was limited. His eyes were not completely developed, let alone adjusted, as he could hardly see anything past the glass. The blue liquid, the bubbles, and his reflection were plenty difficult to look past. His attention was almost immediately captured as a movement outside of his birth cylinder grew nearer.

The door closed behind a spider like creature. Its body was that of a spider, however it stood upon six legs. It bore the form of a centaur, with an armored chest and spider leg like arms. Upon its shoulders rested a head with fangs and four eyes positioned like a "v". The spider approached the fox biped and gave a clicking hiss.

"Lord Nightmare requesstsss a report..."

The fox pressed a key upon the keyboard and turned his attention away from the monitor, "He's stable. I'm pretty confident about this one."

"What about that little...accident...?" The spider fiddled his claws.

"Yes. He's not showing any signs of failure."

"Lord Nightmare stresssses only his capabilities of containing the Sssoul's energy." The spider hissed.

The biped crossed his arms and shook his head, "Lord Nightmare needs not to worry. You can go back and tell him that the clone has been stable and will be ready to serve him by tomorrow. He won't have to waste his time creating _another_ demon beast."

"I will tell him and return with his response."

The spider opened the door and the biped spoke out, "I mean, if he's that worried, he should come see for himself."

The door shut as the spider left.

A hulking reptilian centaur stepped heavily up a series of stairs leading to a set of large doors. Guards thick with armor stood before the door, their gazes unmoving as the reptile approached them. The bulky monster bore two identical heads, six limbs that included arms, a long, powerful tail, and a pair of massive wings that were neatly folded against his sides. With each heavy step, the hydra's armor clanked quite loudly. As he neared the doors, they were pulled open by the guards on the other side. However, the doors had not been opened for him. A spider-taur scurried out, his fangs clicking together for whatever reason. As the hydra-taur passed the arachnid, he snorted, startling the bug who hurried off. Passing the guards, the reptile entered the chamber and knelt in the middle of the room. Sitting on his throne, the Emperor of Darkness, curled his lip, revealing his pointed teeth. He narrowed his eyes that were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses with star-fields upon their lenses.

"You requested me, my lord?"

With a strict voice filled with hatred, Nightmare growled in response, "I expected you sooner, Bloodfire..."

Bloodfire bowed his heads, "Forgive me, my lord. I did not intend to keep you waiting."

"Yet, you allow it to happen?!"

Bloodfire opened his mouths to speak, but the words that he had planned to pass his lips were immediately silenced. Denying his actions would only make his situation worse. He sighed, "Yes, my lord."

Nightmare's anger began to calm somewhat, "Why?"

"I was dealing with a pair of imbeciles. They had distracted me from reporting to you sooner. I had hoped that you would understand my actions, my lord."

The Emperor grumbled, "I will excuse you only once, but see to it that you understand the price in the event it happens again."

"Yes, my lord." Bloodfire lifted his heads.

"Now...I have matters that I wish to discuss with you. As you may already know, 36-550 is nearing completion. Usually, I'd be pleased by this." Nightmare's expression suddenly changed, "I'm not."

Bloodfire felt a slight tingle crawl up his spine from the abrupt change in atmosphere, "Might I ask why?"

"Since the day that idiot ruined the perfectly concocted Code, I've had little faith in this project. I didn't want to see another attempt turn into a failure! I need that half of the Xelleriahn contained! If the knight's clone is not a success, I don't know what will be!"

Nightmare slammed his fist upon his throne's armrest. Bloodfire flinched and quickly thought up something to say.

"My lord, what is there to be worried about? You say the boy is almost finished? You should at least give him a chance. For all we know, he could be just what you need."

"You don't understand. The demon beasts working on him currently have been telling me that he is weaker than the knight when he was created. 36-550 may not be strong enough to withstand the full power of the Xelleriahn. He may be able to harness the Soul half when it is passive, but imagine what could happen if I release it out on the battlefield. He could be destroyed, along with the knight! I cannot see this as something I should take a chance on."

Bloodfire didn't have much to respond with.

"What did he say?"

The spider tapped his claws together, "He's ssstill not persssuaded."

"I'm quite confident in him. He's doing well. In fact, he's almost finished." The fox biped smiled somewhat.

He glanced at the panel, his eyes narrowing, "That's weird."

"What?" The spider-taur was growing nervous.

The fox tapped at the keyboard, "His energy level is climbing."

The little, midnight blue creature stared downward at the glass with a sharp gaze. His undeveloped wings shivered and his small hands slowly began to curl into fists. An unknown feeling within him began to take over his mind and body.

"What the h*** is going on!?" The spider's eyes were wide.

"I don't—"

A red light suddenly lit up and the mechanism blared continuous series of short beeps. The panel turned red as the number for the energy level was skyrocketing at an unreadable speed.

"That can't possibly be good!" The fox yelped, frantically pressing buttons upon the machine.

The little being's eyes glowed red as he violently fought against the straps that held him in place. Tearing the straps apart, the spherical creature punched the glass swiftly. With the blare of a siren, the cylinder shattered and liquid splashed everywhere. The snarls of the creature were muffled briefly before he ripped the breathing tube from his face. He gave a gasp as he quickly worked his lungs on his own. Leaping from the broken cylinder, sparks flew as the wires gave a shriek before snapping. A thicker wire still connected the machine to the boy's back and it would not break so easily. With an angered cry, he spun around and hacked apart the wire with his claws. Severed wires sparked within the cylinder, while some lay strewn about upon the floor. A few wires still hung from the boy's arms and wings, while the thick wire at his back lit up with sparks on the occasion.

With a hiss, he lunged at the fox, sinking his teeth into his leg. Yelping, the fox fell backward as he tried to kick away the spherical being with no success. His fur became wet with the cylinder liquid flooding the floor. The spider grabbed at the boy but was unable to catch him. He jumped away and grabbed a piece of glass. With a glow of purple-y blue, the glass shard formed into a blade. The boy threw it at the fox, it cutting clean through his throat. The blade returned to its original form and shattered against the wall. The boy leapt at the fox's throat and lapped at the blood that gushed out. He suddenly shrieked as the spider grabbed his wings. The creature fought angrily but froze as he was held face to face with the arachnid. The spherical being cried in fear and bit through the bug's exoskeleton. He gave a shout of pain and dropped the boy who scurried off with a small dribble of blood sliding down his lip. The sirens still blared and demon beasts in the halls had frozen in their tracks. The spider ran for the intercom button on the wall, near the door but slipped suddenly. Landing on his left front leg wrong, it snapped off and he shouted in pain. Green blood dripped from his cleaved leg and bite wound on his claw. Scrambling to his feet again, he snatched the phone like device.

Bloodfire shot to his feet as the sirens abruptly screamed. Nightmare looked outraged until a voice shouted over the intercom.

_"36-550 has escaped! I repeat! 36-550 has escaped!"_

The Emperor of Darkness looked rather surprised but he wasn't sure if he should have been. Regardless, he rose and pointed at the door with anger, "Figure out what the h*** is going on!"

The hydra-taur shot out of the overlord's chamber, "Right away, my lord!"

Bloodfire thundered past a frenzy of panicking demon beasts. His eyes fell upon a guard, leaning against the wall, his head resting upon his shoulder. He bore claw marks on his face and throat, his wounds bleeding profusely. The reptile grabbed the guard, lifting him off the ground.

"Where did the little brat go?"

The guard coughed, blood staining his gritted teeth, "I'm not s-sure...he disappeared as quickly as he appeared...I th-think he went that w-way."

Bloodfire set the guard back against the wall and stormed off. The sirens suddenly squeaked into silence and the red flashing lights flicked off. The hydra-taur found himself in an eerily quiet, darkened hallway. He looked up to see that the ceiling lights were shattered. Wires hung from them, sparks exploding from their ends, raining down upon the floor. The sparks illuminated the hallways for a split second, enough for the reptile to catch a quick glance of his surroundings. The demon beast stiffened as he heard a series of tapping sounds in the wall, they growing nearer. The sound climbed into the ceiling and stopped above him. His eyes widened with realization, "S***!"

Two red eyes appeared as the owner punched through the metal plated ceiling. Energy cords, once humming and pulsing with blue, collapsed upon the ground sparking and wriggling about like worms before falling silent and still. Bloodfire spotted the little creature that had been causing such an uproar as he fell to the ground. As the lights sparked, he could see the blood that dripped from the boy's mouth and fingers. Wires still hung from him, and in 36-550's hand was a slowly beating organ that dripped slowly with blood. The boy dropped the object and licked his fingers. Bloodfire didn't dare move, but Lord Nightmare would heavily question his hesitation. Pushing aside his uncertainty, the reptile snarled and lunged at the small thing.

"Come here!"

36-550 jumped back in surprise, hissed, and dashed off. Bloodfire gave chase, easily catching up. The boy skidded to a halt and run beneath the reptile who growled and spun around. He threw his hand forth hoping to snatch the new demon beast. 36-550 dodged, stumbling over a wire dragging from his right arm. It snapped upon being stepped on, its frayed ends giving faint sparks. Losing his footing, he tripped over his feet and broke his fall with his palms as he fell forward. The armored beast leaned down and grabbed 36-550, lifting him by the wings off the floor. The puffball stared at him blankly with yellow eyes of curious confusion. He wriggled uncomfortably, lazily trying to free himself. His attention fell upon his red-stained hands, gazing at them with wonder. Bloodfire brought the young demon beast to eye level and narrowed his blood red eyes as he grumbled.

"You are obnoxious."

As a wire on the boy's left arm sparked, he stared at it with wide eyes and tried to grab at it. Bloodfire groaned with irritation, carrying the puffball away.

"My lord, I brought 36-550." Bloodfire knelt as he tossed the boy upon the floor.

He landed upon his face, then pushed himself up as he outstretched his arms. The child gasped at the huge, cloaked form glaring down upon him. Bloodfire lifted his heads as Nightmare pulled his arm from beneath his cape.

"I'm not sure how, but the brat got into the power grid and managed to damage a generator."

36-550 gave a faint squeak as bony fingers curled around him. His small form was easily lifted off the ground, he eye level with his menacing creator. Nightmare narrowed his eyes, gazing with a curled lip.

"It's pathetic."

The Emperor of Darkness bore an unimpressed scowl as he watched the puffball look about in wonder before attempting to nibble his captor's index finger. Bloodfire gave an uncertain glance to the overlord.

"My lord?"

"It's pathetic and weak." Nightmare repeated, grumbling. "However, not entirely worthless. I have spent far too much precious time constructing him. I have no patience for starting over or enduring another failure. This one will have to do."

The puffball gave a whine as his creator began to etch a series of numbers in the creature's side with the sharp nail of his index finger. A small stream of blood ran down his side from the bloodied numbers: '36-550'. With an irritated huff, the overlord lowered his arm and dropped the boy a short distance from the ground. He hit the smooth floor with a soft thump before bouncing slightly, the wire remnants on his form, no longer sparking, ticked against the hard surface. Nightmare gestured for the draconic demon beast to leave, with a wave of his hand.

"Take the boy and lock him up. I don't care where. I have no use for him...yet. Do not utter a word to the knight of his existence, unless you have a death wish."

"Yes, my lord."

"Enjoy your stay." Bloodfire tossed the blue puffball into a dark room.

He landed on his back, quickly bouncing to his feet. The hydra-taur gave a toothy smirk.

"Better make yourself comfortable," He now scowled at the boy, "because you won't be coming for a long time."

The heavy door was suddenly slammed shut, the growl of the force echoing briefly in the light-less space. 36-550 stared at the door, expecting it to open soon. He reassured himself it would open any time soon. Yet, he sat a couple feet from the door and waited. And waited...and waited...

* * *

_**A/N**_

_So? What do you think? Do comment please ^^_


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N**_

_Not much to say, other than the fact that my chapters are actually long. Meta is in the chapter but he's obviously not going to be called Meta "Knight" yet because he's not a Knight yet. So yah. Read on my friends!  
_

* * *

Chapter 2

A wolf with long, bristly dark brown fur gave a snort after he took gulp of water from his cup. A feline like biped glanced at the Hicali demon beast with a smirk of interest.

"Now what?" He flicked his tail.

The wolf glared at him as he gulped the last of the water from his cup to which he crushed promptly after emptying it.

"What is taking that rodent so d*** long?" He snarled. "How hard is it to buff up a couple blades?"

The feline chuckled, purring briefly, "You lack patience, my friend. He's only been about ten minutes."

"I don't care! What if I needed my swords now?"

The biped sighed, "But you don't, Boneripper."

Before the wolf could spit a comment back, a ferret with two tails and leather padding, strapped to his form, scuttled toward Boneripper. The wolf curled his lip and threw the crushed cup at the creature's face.

"Took you long enough."

"My apologies." The ferret's tails curled around his body as his ears fell back.

He offered the blades to the wolf guard who gave a toothy scowl and took back his weapons. Huffing with a snort, Boneripper stood and left, his tail waving angrily behind him.

"I wasn't gone that long, was I?" The ferret gave a quizzical eye to the feline who shook his head with an unimpressed frown as he glanced at the wolf who disappeared down a corridor.

He sat upon his chair, fiddling with a set of marbles upon his desk with boredom. The wood was greed with dust. This had been one of the few occasions to which he had actually made contact with the wooden furniture. Yellowing crumpled papers littered the desk top and the floor at its right where a wire trash can contained many of the crumpled papers. Broken, splintered pencils and snapped pens were buried in the trash can as well as lying uselessly about the floor. One would think, of all people, he'd keep his space clean. However, he didn't. A marble rolled off the desk, bounced off his purple foot and landed upon the hard, dust grey floor with a clack. Sighing, he pushed away from his desk and climbed off his chair. Leaning to pick up the marble, he noticed a wrinkled paper lying against the wall beneath his desk. Narrowing his eyes, he crouched upon his nonexistent knees and crawled beneath the desk to grab at the paper. He crawled back, but stepped on his cape. Annoyed by this, he lifted his foot and brushed away the blue fabric with his gloved hand and stood up finally to take a look at the paper he discovered. He strained his eyes, behind his mask, as he read the print past the wrinkles and creases.

_ 'Another holder for the remaining Xelleriahn Soul half is yet to be created. After three failed attempts, the possibility of one successfully being formed is seeming to dwindle into single digits. However, there is much promise in the most recent of attempts. In the process of development, this new Project may be a success.'_

The large puffball narrowed his eyes in suspicion. As he read the note's date, his eyes widened.

"This was nearly six thousand years ago! That's been plenty of time!"

A knock at the door startled the armored puffball.

"Hey, Meta." A voice called through the door. "Let's go do something. I'm bored!"

"Uh…" The blue puffball crumpled the paper and tossed it on his desk. "Coming."

He hurried to the door and opened it to face a fox biped who looked at him with shining green eyes. Meta leaned into the door's frame.

"What do you want, Vel?"

"I told you. I'm bored. Lets go do something!"

"You have anything particular in mind?"

Vel opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He smiled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck, "N-no. No, not really."

Meta sighed with irritation, "Come on."

Vel pumped his arm down, "Yes!"

The fox sat across from Meta at a small table. Before him was a plate of raw meat. Meta sipped at glass of water as he listened to his friend rant.

"So, I was walking down the street, on my way to see you when I saw some guards dragging off some psycho screaming about something…I can't remember what, but he was apparently rebelling against Lord Nightmare."

Meta grumbled, "Haven't you noticed that there have been more rebels lately?"

Vel shrugged, mumbling, "Uh-uh," past his mouth full of meat.

The fox narrowed his eyes as Meta placed some wrapped sweets upon the table in front of him. The puffball unwrapped one of the candies and popped into his mouth through the "v" shaped visor of his mask, his face hidden past the darkness of the metal.

"Really? Why do you eat that stuff? It's disgusting."

"I think not." Meta gave the fox a glare.

"I just don't—never mind."

"You remember Scathor?" Meta gave a quizzical glance.

"Uh, that cat guy? He was an engineer right?"

"Mechanic."

"Whatever. Yah, I remember him vaguely. Didn't he rebel and escape?" Vel rubbed his nose.

The puffball nodded, "Since he managed to escape, others have been getting the same idea. Remember the mass rebellion? Rebels tried to escape but they all got slaughtered."

"Yah, so?" Vel took another bite if meat.

"I feel something like that might happen again." The puffball fiddled with an empty wrapper.

"Why?"

"If my father is working on, you know, another Project, don't you think other people are going to try to stop him?"

"You know, I really don't like talking about this. I'm not interested in dying."

Meta groaned with irritation, "And yet you started the conversation."

"Hey, I didn't think you'd bring up this whole shebang." Vel glared as he pointed at his friend.

"Do you know anything about the new Project?"

Vel's eyes widened, "I've heard some rumors. It's obviously supposed to hold the other half of the Soul, that much is true. But, I think I've overheard someone saying that it's someone's clone."

"Who's?" Meta was suddenly intrigued.

"Uh, either yours or Lord Nightmare's, or someone else's entirely. But you gotta hear this! A guard said that the guy's "name" is only a set of numbers."

"Any letters? Nickname?"

"Nope and nope. Just numbers, a dash, and more numbers." Vel spoke casually, licking his empty plate.

Meta's eyes flashed green as he pondered the strangeness of what he had been told. Vel's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"I don't even know if they're finished with it yet. About a year ago, I heard a commotion show up but not much happened. Nobody will say anything about it. I just hear stuff." Vel looked up from the table top.

With an annoyed sigh, the spherical demon beast rose from his seat as he scooped up the wrappers of his candy and put them elsewhere. Vel stood as well, slapping his hands upon the table top.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

"Around…" The puffball responded with a hint of bitterness in his rather chilled tone.

Vel was reluctant to follow his, sometimes, cold hearted friend but hesitantly hurried up to him. He nudged Meta who did not turn his attention to the fox.

"Where are you going?"

No response.

"Can you at least tell me what's on your mind?"

Meta halted and glared at the mammalian demon beast, not that his expression could be seen. His eyes glowed orange and he snapped, "Have I ever told you what's on my mind? No! Don't expect me to anytime soon!"

He turned away, his armor clanking faintly as he dashed off with the abrupt rage that appeared from seemingly nowhere. Vel's eyes were slightly wide as he watched the spherical being disappear out the door of the building and vanish into the darkness of the, always dark, streets.

Vel's ears twitched and he snorted, "The h***?"

"What's the news today?" Boneripper casually strode into a room, the door swinging shut behind him

Bloodfire narrowed his eyes at the wolf, a grumble rising in his throats. "Where were you? Delaying our meetings is not appreciated."

The wolf lightly tapped his claws against his twin sword scabbard with a curled lip as he snorted in disdain. "Remind me to kill that rodent."

An eel humanoid flicked his tongue as he gave a gurgling hiss. "Forget about it. We have more important matters to discuss, dog."

Boneripper gave a toothy growl at the insult, but resisted the urge to attack. Reluctantly, he turned away and took a seat, his tail flicking angrily. Several guards stood around the grouping demon beasts. Bloodfire straightened and took a deep breath, puffing out his chest.

"As you know, and should know, Lord Nightmare is putting together orders for his coarse of action." He rested his hands on the table to which the demon beasts surrounded. "That's where we come in. We've gone through this process over three hundred times. I shouldn't have to explain it this time. But because of some people…"

The hydra leaned toward a biped that resembled a jackal. The canine shrunk back upon being glared at. Bloodfire stepped away and cleared his throats.

"Anyway. Our armies are quite plentiful in number. However, that was not Lord Nightmare's greatest concur. Creating a holder for the remaining half of the Soul proved to be a nearly impossible task. But, after four attempts and three failures, over a span of three thousand years, Project 36-550 has finally ended in success."

The eel narrowed his eyes quizzically. "Perhaps it has been created, but how much longer must we wait before the boy is able to exercise his power?"

Bloodfire grumbled. "Our Master did not say. He merely told me he had no use for him yet. I did not question his orders and neither should any of you."

Boneripper flicked his ear. "Does that other puffball know about him?"

The reptilian demon beast glared at everyone in the room. "No. And he will never know until Lord Nightmare goes forward with his plans."

"Did you see that guy?" A guard chuckled.

His companion laughed in return. "Another flea-bitten dog joins our ranks. The sap looks like you could scare the life out of him by jumping out behind him!"

"Ha ha, yah."

The pair passed another hallway, turning another corner. Meta slipped past them from behind, walking hurriedly in the opposite direction. His eyes darted about the signs placed upon the doors in the corridor. each he passed had a series of numbers, however, one door also bore a sign beneath the label. 'Staff only.'

He gave a quizzical expression, "What staff?"

Peering through the window, he strained his eyes to see the desks and book shelves chock full of binders, books, and more. Quietly opening the door, he glanced over his shoulder quickly before shutting the door behind him and flicking on the dullest lights. He recognized this room. This was one of the many record storage areas that held every record of each and every one of the births and deaths of the demon beasts. If he was lucky, he would find the record of the newest demon beast who would hopefully be the holder of the other Soul half. Meta stared at the large expanse of book cases with uncertain eyes.

"By the stars…Where do I start?"

He stood before a tall book case and reached for a binder to which he pulled open and flipped to the back. He skimmed the brief descriptions of the demon beasts, glancing at the thumbnails of each creature printed upon the wrinkled pages. The dates of creation were too long ago, he suddenly realized and returned the binder to its shelf. He placed a finger upon the spines of the binders as he narrowed his eyes, mulling over which he should look at next. His eyes fell upon a shinier binder to which he pulled from the shelf and flipped to the back. His eyes flashed as they lied upon the thumbnail of a puffball that looked nearly identical to himself as a child. The young demon beast's creation name was 36-550. Not a single letter in sight.

_ "A guard said that the guy's "name" is only a set of numbers."_

_ "Any letters? Nickname?"_

_ "Nope and nope. Just numbers, a dash, and more numbers." Vel spoke casually._

"Hmm…He wasn't created too long ago. The boy's only a couple thousand years old."

Meta looked up curtly before ripping out the page and folding it up. He returned the binder to its rightful place and hid the stolen page somewhere in his cape. Turning out the lights, he darted out of the room and rushed down the corridor. A fox stepped in his path, the swordsman nearly crashing into him. He skidded to a halt and heaved a sigh of relief as he recognized his friend.

"Vel, you nearly gave me a heart attack." The puffball's heart was thumping.

Vel smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. Where've you been?"

Meta shrugged. "Nowhere in particular."

Vel nodded. "Oh, okay. Are you still mad at me?"

"About earlier?" The swordsman gave a quizzical eye. "No."

"Good. Can we go somewhere then?" Vel's tail wagged.

The puffball sighed. "Have a place in mind this time?"

"Yes, actually!" Vel's eyes lit up.

"Alright, where?"

* * *

**_A/N_**

_Okay, so, I've got Boneripper introduced and Meta's pointless friend, Vel. Some foreshadowing. Comment please! =D_


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N**_

_Okay... I really don't have much to say. I'm working on Chapter 4 already so that'll be up soon. Whenever I say that, a chapter doesn't show almost a month+ -_-' So, on that note, read and wait...read...and...wait...ugh_

* * *

Chapter 3

The door still did not open. Not once. Would it ever?

A quiet whine echoed around the lightless room. Upon the walls, scratches had been scored into the metal, revealing the desperation of the creature held within the silent chamber. The child huddled in a corner, his wings twitching uselessly. He aimlessly licked the wall in the same area, his little barbed tongue scratching against the metallic surface which began to rust from the constant wear. 36-550's hunger reflated through his dulled gaze as he still continued to wait for that door to open. Around him, frayed pieces of win littered the floor, those still attached to him were stiffening and becoming brittle, they able to break easier. A whimper escaped his mouth and he blinked slowly.

_'There, there, little Master. You'll be out sooner than you believe.'_

The puffball froze and looked to the door. It had not opened. Nobody else was in the room. Perhaps he was wrong about that. He looked to the door again and heard a quiet laugh.

_'I'm not there if that is what you are expecting.'_

The boy blinked and looked around nervously. "Where, then?"

His voice was small and tired. The feminine voice returned, but he listened closely to discover it speaking in his mind.

_'I'm a part of you. Actually, I am you.'_

"Can I see you?" He asked quietly.

_'Only if you want to.'_

"I want to."

_'Then close your eyes, little Master.'_

He closed his eyes. He was prepared to open them and see someone, but instead the voice spoke something different.

_'Do you see me?'_

The puffball wanted to open his eyes but a figure began to form in his mind. The owner of the voice was something he didn't expect. A wolf. He couldn't see the figure as clearly as he had liked, but he could very easily see that the figure was a wolf. He didn't know what a wolf was or if it had a name. He simply asked, "Who are you?"

_'I'm your soul.'_

"My…soul?"

"Something is obviously happening and I didn't like it." Bloodfire snorted.

"Finally, something we both agree on!" Boneripper glared.

"I don't know who it is exactly, but whoever it is might not be too smart. You'd think the culprit would know that ripping out the pages in all the record files for Project 36-550 would quickly be noticed." The hydra grumbled.

"I don't know about you, but I already have a list of suspects." Boneripper snorted.

"I'm sure none of them are even close." The reptile glared. "You always blame those you hate."

He shrugged. "I was right once."

"Once! And only once!" Bloodfire snarled.

"Where are we going anyway? You bored me into forgetting after that lecture you gave me."

The dragontaur gave an irritated sigh. "That puffball is my last suspect. I doubt he knows anything, but I need to know else Lord Nightmare might eat us."

"When you say "us", you mean "you" right?"

Bloodfire narrowed his eyes into a glare, growling at the wolf. "You'll share the blame!"

Boneripper chortled. "Lord Nightmare's orders were directed you."

The hydra sighed. "Yet he punishes all those who take part! You should know this by now!"

The wolf bore his teeth. "He'll kill you first."

"I don't _care_ who he kills first! We'll all be dead!"

"Vel, you're boring me." Meta groaned.

"But I'm telling you! It's a conspiracy!" The fox blurted.

"I don't care about what he said or what some guy shouted." Meta grumbled with annoyance. "Talk about something less boring."

"Okay, let me–uh, oh…" Vel's ears lied flat. "It's them."

The swordsman turned in his seat, gazing at the two guards who approached with expressions that seemed to be foreshadowing bad luck. He smirked behind his mask, _'But of course it's them.'_

Vel glared. "What do you want?"

"Zip the lips or I'll rip 'em off!" Boneripper bore his teeth.

Vel shrunk back, his eyes filled with boiling anger. Bloodfire glared at Meta who was giving a hidden smile.

"What seems to be the problem this time?" Meta sighed.

"Don't get smart with me!" Bloodfire glared. "I'd be worried about right now considering considering you're a suspect right now."

"Am I? What did I do supposedly." He narrowed an eye.

The hydra grumbled beneath his breath before growling at the swordsman. "The records for 36-550 have all been ripped out of their files."

"What's that?" Meta sounded confused.

"36-550? I assumed you knew." Bloodfire lied.

"Which is why I asked you." The puffball groaned with irritation.

"It's a new demon beast." The hydra hissed.

"What is?" He asked.

The hydra blinked. "The new beast! 36-550!"

The puffball sighed. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

The reptile groaned with frustration. "Forget it!"

He stormed off with Boneripper in his wake. The wolf snorted, his tail whipping through the air. "That was a pathetic waste of time. He doesn't know anything!"

"Which is good. Lord Nightmare won't have to worry." The dragontaur bellowed.

"Now we can go through my list of suspects." Boneripper gave a toothy grin.

"Fine!"

"Why would you be a suspect?" Vel asked with interest.

"It wouldn't surprise me if they are going through everyone." Meta shrugged, twiddling his thumbs.

Vel leaned back into his chair. "Oh."

Meta stood from his seat and exhaled slowly. "I'm going to my room."

"Okay. See you later then?" Vel nodded.

Meta gave a grunt in acknowledgement. He wrapped his cape around himself and strode from the building. The darkened streets were lit with dull lights. The occasional vehicle would pass the swordsman, not caring if he was there or not. Following an empty street, it rarely ever used, he came around the corner of a building. Faintly, he heard a deep groan buzzing in the distance. Narrowing his eyes with suspicion, he jogged down the street, the sound growing louder. Where was it coming from? Turning a corner, he skidded to a halt, staring at a long building, expanding over a massive area. His eyes were wide as he watched tesla coils zap alight with tendrils of dark blue energy that jumped and arched between coils, connecting the two metallic structures for a split second. As the energy connected two coils, a show of sparks erupted from metal structures and rained down upon the ground below.

The tesla coils were energized by the generators nearby. The massive mechanisms bellowed and whirred loudly. Behind a glass panel, a charge gauge's rectangular lights frantically rose and fell tens of times in a single second. The generator gave a cry that quickly heightened in pitch, becoming an electrical squeal. The lights of the gauge abruptly skyrocketed, the charge maximizing the energy level. A tesla coil glared, and, with a bright flash, an energy tendril jumped from the coil to another with a bark, sparks falling to the ground. The charge gauge of the generator dropped and the lowest lights continued to spasm wildly.

Meta was astonished by his discovery. He spotted a door between two tesla coils and hurried toward it. He nearly at the wall, the generator began to cry again, announcing another beam of energy. The sound became nearly unbearable as he reached the door and flung it open. The tesla coils came alight, sparks crashing to the ground. The puffball shut the door, the corridor becoming quiet. He could still hear the groan of the generators as he cautiously padded down the red hallway, the blood red lights mounted upon the ceiling.

"What is this place?" He whispered.

Walking down the seemingly endless hallway, it finally opened to a chamber with entrances to another set of corridors. A single door caught his attention as he stepped into the empty space. He flinched as two voices echoed from the eastern corridor. With not much thought, the puffball opened the door quickly and pulled it shut quietly. As the owners of the voices passed, Meta listened to the slightly muffled conversation.

"Lord Nightmare won't need to worry about a single thing. Project 36-550 is a success and the Blood Gem has been constructed to perfection."

"The Xelleriahn's energy is fully contained and Lord Nightmare's victory will be secured. His plans shall be put to action."

"Yes. Everything is running smoothly."

"So, he finally managed to make it…" Meta whispered with anger concealed in his voice.

As he stepped back from the door, he heard a crack as he stepped on something. Looking down, he gave a puzzled glance as he noticed the glass littering the floor. Turning around, he found a computer with its monitor shut off. Aside it, lied an abandoned birth cylinder. The glass containment pod was shattered as if something huge had punched clean through it. The fluid, once in the pod, was on the floor, dry and crusted from ages ago. The wires of the machine hung from its ceiling, the primer cord shredded and stream about the glass. Old, dried blood splattered the floor further back in the creation room.

"What the h*** happened here?"

Curious, he pressed a button on the side of the monitor and waited as its screen booted up, the light slowly brightening. Frozen statistics of what the computer once monitored filled the screen. They were the last normal recordings before the demon beast broke loose, or so it seemed. It had been stable, all energy levels balanced until something happened. But what?

Meta touched the mouse and watched as the cursor moved. His eyes flashed, _'The computer still works?'_

Immediately curious, he dragged the cursor to the top of the screen and clicked "Recent". The statistics changed slightly but a button met his attention: "Play."

"Play what?"

He clicked it and his eyes began to widen as he watched an energy gauge's numbers suddenly begin to skyrocket. Big red letters flashed "OVERLOAD" as the other gauges went haywire. Every number abruptly became zero and "FAILURE" appeared on screen. He relaxed his nerves and stepped back. Turning his attention to the birth cylinder, he noticed numbers beneath a blanket of dust, engraved in the rimming of the metallic surface. Brushing away the dust, realization slapped him in the face.

"By the stars…"

_'36-550'_

* * *

_**A/N**  
_

_YAH! Yay for major foreshadowing! Bahahaha! Comment! Pwease. =3**  
**_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**

What is this?! An actual chapter!? OMG! Yeah, so I finally rewrote my prequel to my satisfaction so now the story SHALL COMMENCE! Blahaha! Now you should probably reread the previous few chapters. Since I'm writing on paper and transfer it to my computer, I won't loose my writing and the chapters are MUCH longer! ^^ I'm obviously happy! So, anyway, enjoy!

* * *

His armor lightly clanked as pelted down a reddened hallway, the low groan of the generators never ceasing. No matter which corridor he raced through, he'd always find another series of endless hallways. He shot around a sharp corner and slid across the sleek floor as he halted. The corridor ended here. Unlike the others, this one didn't open to a crossroads. A large door greeted him. In all capitalized, bold, red letters, a sign glared at him.

**'AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY'**

He stared at the menacing door with an expressionless gaze.

"What do they have to hide?" Meta gripped the lever. "Dare I ask."

Pulling down the lever, the door bellowed before unlocking. He pushed the heavy door open and stared with surprise at the vast expanse of computers and machines throughout the seemingly endless room. Drawers lined the walls, stacked high enough to reach the ceiling, which were opened and closed by robotic arms that sorted files constantly as new ones were added and others were updated. Rejected papers scattered the floor, no one bothering to pick them up. The swordsman explored the room, staring up at the towers of drawers with awe. Each was labeled with a letter, they all in alphabetical order.

He passed a file labeled "Z". The following series of drawers were labeled with a number, all in numerical order, from zero to one hundred. He approached drawers labeled in the 30's and stopped in front of 'drawer 36'. Pulling it open, he fingered through the files. Each file possessed the identification number of Destroyers or room numbers. He frowned as he came upon the last file. He didn't find 36-550. Straightening, he closed the drawer.

"Did they move it?" He thought aloud and continued down the towers of drawers with a quizzical gaze.

Padding all around the room, he finally came upon 'drawer 100', it several feet above him. Next to it was a drawer labeled with a single dash. Narrowing his in suspicion, he unfolded his wings and opened the file drawer below 'drawer –' and stood upon it. He pulled at 'drawer –' to find it would not open. A small light, next to the handle, pulsed slowly, it staring at him blankly.

"You won't keep me from knowing, Nightmare." Meta glared.

Swiftly, he punched the light, it shattering. AS he pulled the drawer open, sirens abruptly blared, screaming in alarm. Not concerned, the swordsman immediately grabbed the file labeled 'Project 36-550.' Opening it, he stared at the photo of the boy. He was tiny. A single document caught his attention. He read it intently, shock creeping into his widening eyes.

"He's my clone?!" He yelped.

He snapped into reality, remembering the sirens still blaring. Several demon beasts stormed into the room, looking around frantically. The puffball returned his attention to the drawer and spotted a black metal box. Folding the document and storing it into his cape, he grabbed the box and peered into it. A blood red glow met his gaze, a slitted pupil staring into his eyes. The half soul of the Xelleriahn in his core began to murmur inaudibly as the Blood Gem, in the box, whispered in his mind. He stared at it until a demon beast shouted out.

"Up there! He has the Blood Gem!"

Closing the box, Meta hid it in his cape and unsheathed his sword. Unfolding his wings, he took to the air as the demonbeasts shot at him. The bullets ricocheted off the robotic arms as he flew behind them. Nearing a wall, he swept his blade through the air, sending a zapping beam crashing into the wall. Metal and cement flew everywhere, and, as the dust cleared, the puffball darted through the gap. A demonbeast narrowed his eyes and fired his gun, the bullet whistling clean through the puffball's wing membrane. He hissed as the small hole stung like a small fire biting art his skin. Swirling around to face the structure, he glared at the demonbeasts as they aimed their guns again. Swiping the blade of his sword through the air once more, the beam of energy rocketed toward the tesla coils. The generators charge gauge had lit up completely, a coil coming aglow. The beam of yellow energy smashed into the coil as an arch of dark blue energy pounced from the glowing coil. An earsplitting screech shrieked through the air as the tesla could exploded with an eruption of metal splinters and raining sparks. Flailing loose, the arch of uncontrolled energy trailed back to a generator, connecting another coil with massive bellowing mechanism. Unable to handle the surge of unstable power, the generator briefly silenced, a sparking tesla coil squealing. Meta lifted his gloved hand to shield his eyes from the abrupt blast of blinding light as the generator screamed. The unharnessed energy overloaded its engine core to which gave out and collapsed upon itself. Shards of metal and sparking electrical components exploded from the mechanism, leaving the machine of a flaming ruin. Meta stared at the wreck of the power core with a hint of surprise in his masked eyes.

"Perhaps that was a little more than I expected." He chuckled quietly.

The sirens from the building still blared but eventually fell silent as their energy expired. A portion of the buildings of the easternmost side of the giant city had blacked out. If there was one thing Meta knew for certain, it was that Nightmare was having a colossal temper tantrum.

36-550 wrapped his arms around what would serve as his abdomen. His little wings, slightly bigger than what they had been almost two years ago, when he was created, twitched nervously. Outside the door, to which he still awaited its slow opening, he could hear shouts and loud footsteps storm past. What was happening? Standing up, he threw his little fist at the metal surface of the door. A small blast of dark energy erupted from his fist and slammed against the wall, hitting a black mark from his previous attempts. Dark blue smoke briefly rose from the mark before fading.

_'So lonely we are…well, you are. Don't you feel how I do, now? Forever trapped in this dark void that is your core. Your chances of freedom are as little as mine.'_

That voice was new. It was far from the feminine voice of the wolf who claimed to be his soul. He paused to listen for another reappearance of the new voice but it never came, just like the door never opening. He sat and sighed, hugging his feet to his body.

_'I feed upon your rage, your sorrow…It fuels my hunger as I fuel yours. You're too pathetic and weak to ever dream of keeping me at bay, let alone understand any of this…you'll know, once it's too late.'_

_'Don't worry, little Master. Nothing can last forever.'_ The feminine voice tried to reassure the boy.

Could she hear the dark, deep voice that played in his mind?

* * *

His boots clanked softly as he dashed down the empty sidewalks of the abandoned street. Straight ahead, he heard the angered shouts of drivers as they got out of their vehicles in fits of frustration. Nearly half the city was experiencing the power failure which included blackouts on streets. The vehicles bore no lights, save for blinkers. There was no need for them considering the streets were always alight and it was next to impossible to not see pedestrians. The power had never failed before. The streets were eerily dark with only the glow of the puffball's eyes to illuminate his path, not that he needed a light to see. Crowds blocked sidewalks and the streets were jammed with enraged drivers and lightless vehicles. With a swift jump, he lunged upon a car and sprung over the next. Demonbeasts looked in his direction as he passed, then rushed down the emptying streets and turned a sharp corner, vanishing into the darkness once more.

Meta heaved a sigh as he leaned against the door once it closed behind him. His eyes darted about warily as his chest rose and fell with his speedy breaths tinged with panic and unease. Clearing his mind of the events not long ago, he calmed and eyed the strangely silent walkway. The passage was dully illuminated by pale glow of the faint, eerily pulsing emergency lights mounted upon the ceiling. The silence tugged at Meta's mind as he finally took a step from the door and began edging toward the end of the walk. Pressing his back to the wall, he was reminded of the tiny wound he bore by a sharp ache of the small hole punched into the membrane of his left wing. Despite how much it felt like pins and needles stabbing that one little area, he ignored the painful prick of a sting and reverted his mind elsewhere. Biting his lower lip, he looked to the floor as he slowly inhaled a shaky breath and put a hand to the hilt of his sword.

Tentatively, he peered around the corner and froze. Finding not a soul about, he gave a face of puzzlement. Relaxing, he cautiously made his way down the corridor, passing blacked out rooms with doors sealed shut.

_'This is a major passageway. There are supposed to be demonbeasts in mass numbers passing through here. Unless, because of the blackout, sections have been rerouted.'_

He was pulled from his thoughts as a steadily growing noise finally caught his attention. Quickening his pace, the puffball made his way down the corridor to be met with a single pair of double door at his left. On the other side of the large doors was a large open space full of demonbeasts bustling about, hurrying to their destinations. They were more than likely aware of the power outage but were all too busy to pay it any mind. He glanced through the glass of the tall windows of the doors watching the people go by. Not a single one of them noticed him. He took a step toward the doors, plotting his next move. He'd have to get through that crowd without much attention.

"So," A sudden stomp as a form stopped behind him startled him from his thoughts. "All this time, you knew about him, didn't you?"

Meta turned to face Bloodfire who glared with irritation. "I'm surprised you didn't find out sooner."

"I should have known it was you. You were playing games with me." A growl rumbled in his throats and enraged scowl plastered itself upon his faces. "I'm tired of your damn tricks!"

The hydrataur lunged at the puffball who quickly sidestepped. The reptile's fist flew threw the air only to slam against the wall. The corridor shook, the double doors rattling.

"Well, that's too bad. I have plenty more to show you!" The puffball unsheathed his sword and threw himself upon Bloodfire's back.

"Got off me, worthless blob!"

"So tell me!" Meta growled. "Why have you been keeping him a secret from me?!"

"That's classified! Lord Nightmare ordered me not to utter a word!"

The reptile's heads turned to face the puffball clinging to his armored back.

"Unfortunately for you, I know everything you have about the boy! He'll think you let something slip and the blame will all be on you. In other words, you've failed!"

Bloodfire's eyes were alight with something seething contempt. Parting his jaws, he shot his heads toward Meta. The swordsman leapt off the guard's back. The hydra's powerful tail swept toward Meta and knocked him off his feet, slamming him into the wall. With a whistle, the beast's tail whipped the air and brushed the floor as it flicked about with agitation. Meta gasped in surprise as his back met the wall. Landing upon his feet, he jumped up at the guard, gripping his sword tightly. Bloodfire lifted his wing in defense as Meta swiped his blade. The hydrataur screamed as his opponent's weapon tore through the membrane of his wing, his artificial blood wetting the smooth surface. Outraged, he clenched his teeth and lifted his tail off the ground. Dodging the draconic being's heavy tail, Meta leapt over it with ease. Nearing the wall, still airborne, he pushed off the metallic surface with a quick kick of his feet and launched himself toward Bloodfire. The reptilian narrowed his eyes only for them to widen as the puffball thrust his sword through the air. A blast of energy slammed into the guard who roared as he smashed through the tall windows of the large double doors and crashed to the floor. Glass shattered everywhere, raining upon Bloodfire, he laying dazed and bleeding from the gash on his shoulder.

Demonbeasts froze in shock, the once loud room was now hushed. Meta jumped over the called guard, dashing through the crowds and disappearing down the series of corridors. Regaining his composure, Bloodfire brought himself to his feet. He glared at the still bystanders, rage returning to his heart.

"What are _you_ looking at?!"

His enraged voice frightened the demonbeasts who flinched and rushed about. Glass cracked behind the reptile, he turning his heads to look over his shoulder. Boneripper picked his way over the glass, his tail sweeping at it as it brushed against the floor.

"What happened to _you_?" He questioned, eying the guard's wounds.

"That little pest of a blob knew about 36-550! I don't know what the hell he's up to but I won't allow him to go through with it!"

* * *

He felt the numerous vibrations of demonbeasts bustling about further beyond the door of his lightless cell. The small puffball whimpered softly as he lied, pressed into a corner, his tiny wings lying flat against his back. Exhaling quickly, he watched as little pieces of dust brushed forward, spreading outward. Blinking slowly, 36-550 reached his hand forward, tapping his fingers against the cool of the floor. A loud bang of the door startled him. He stared with wide eyes that squinted as the large metallic door came forcefully grinding open. The boy gasped quietly.

_'It opened. It opened!'_

Meta blinked, his eyes adjusting to the dark of the chamber. A small yellow gaze blinked curiously at him as he slipped into the room. He paused as his attention met the small, lonely form of his clone who's eyes sparked with a brief flicker of tentative excitement. Meta's eyes flashed green as he surveyed this tiny being. The same child he found in the thumbnails and photos. The same Project locked in a cell for two years. The same demonbeast cloned from him to hold the other half of the Xelleriahn's soul.

"Where the hell did he go?!"

Meta's eyes returned to their normal color as he shot a glance over his shoulder. Facing 36-550, he approached the puffball hurriedly. The child's yellow eyes flashed red, hoping to ward away Meta who ignored the warning and scooped him off the floor. 36-550 gave a yelp of terror, Meta's gloved hand quickly coming to his clone's mouth, cutting off his cry.

"Hush, boy." He muttered as he pulled his cape over 36-550, hiding him in the fabric. "There is very little time."

* * *

Bloodfire stormed down the lengthy tunnel with Boneripper and a large serpentine demonbeast at his heels. He halted at the partially open door and clenched his teeth before parting his jaws and letting loose an enraged snarl. Curling his fingers, he slammed the side of his fist against the door, it flying open completely with a loud eruption of sound that shook the tunnel.

"Now I know exactly what he's doing!" Bloodfire growled. "We cannot let him leave! Find them!"

Boneripper snorted, pelting down the passage. "I'll find the little pests!"

As Bloodfire made his way down the tunnel, the serpentine demonbeast poked his large head into the dark room. Sniffing throatily, he lifted his head, gazing upward.

"Easy, little one." Meta whispered, holding the boy close.

36-550's eyes widened in terror as the serpent stared directly at their forms. Meta held his breath, it caught in his throat.

_'He can't see us can he?'_ Meta felt his heart race.

The reptile's blood red tongue slid between his jaws, flicking in the air. His eyes narrowed as he gave another throaty sniff, a growl slowly rising in his throat, it rumbling quietly. 36-550 hid his face in Meta's cape, trembling in fear. He gave a quiet whine, his uncertain gaze fading purple.

"Hush…" Meta breathed, his eyes glued to the serpent as he flicked his tongue.

"Bloodspar!" Bloodfire shouted from down the hall. "Get over here!"

Bloodspar gave an irritated hiss as he whipped around, following Bloodfire as soon as he caught up with the hydra. Meta blew a sigh, lifting the cover of darkness from around him. Dropping to the ground, he landed gently upon his feet, still holding the boy in his arms. 36-550 clung to Meta's cape, pulling the fabric to his face.

"Those guys are scary."

The swordsman sighed, giving him a gentle expression of light concern. "Soon, you won't have to worry about them anymore."

"Why?" He blinked curiously.

"We're leaving."

36-550's eyes lit up. "Where?"

Meta padded out of the cell, cautiously making his way down the tunnel. "Somewhere far away."

* * *

**A/N**

**Foreshadowing and all that good stuff! Not sure when the next chapter will be up since I have Apocalypse of the Dimensions to finally finish before I actually get further into this book. So, patience is a requirement when reading my stories ^^' Sorry! I have my crazy uploading days too so hope for one of those Ehehe.**


End file.
